Her Secret
by bellastrange51
Summary: Rowena and Helena have a secret. Will it hurt or help their relationship?
1. Insomnia

**First Year **

**September 1****st****, 1009**

**21:30**

She wasn't afraid of anything. It was just a change, not a fear. After making the rest of her way up the spiral stairs, she knocked on the small grey door.

"Come in," replied an exhausted voice.

The young girl slowly opened the door. She stood in the doorway wearing a royal blue nightgown. Straight ahead, her mother sat at a large maple desk, looking anxiously at the scattered pieces of parchment in front of her.

"Mother?" asked the girl. Her tone was cautious, as her mother did not like to be bothered while working.

Rowena recognized the tender voice immediately and looked up from her desk.

"What is it Helena?"

The young girl shrugged. "I cannot go to sleep again."

Rowena sighed. Helena had suffered from insomnia since infancy. Holding out a gentle arm, she gave her daughter a small smile.

"Come here, sweetheart."

Helena walked to her mother's side and was brought into a light embrace.

"You are just overexcited for tomorrow." said Rowena, whispering into her child's ear.

"My eyes want to sleep, but my mind does not." Helena groaned softly and leaned her head on her mother's shoulder.

Rowena chuckled. "That is because you are just like me."

Helena lifted her head. "You always say that."

Despite the tiredness in her eyes, Rowena's smile grew larger.

"I say what is true, darling."

Helena shook her head. "That does not help."

"Telling the truth?" Rowena questioned, now looking amused. "It is always helpful to know the truth, especially when it is a good truth."

The young girl rolled her eyes. "I know _that _part. I mean that the truth doesn't help me sleep!

Rowena took her daughter's hand, rubbing a thumb across her soft palm.

"What do you love, Helena?"

Helena looked down at their hands and thought.

"Well…you, music…books, singing…plenty of things."

"Exactly," said Rowena. "All of those things are true, are they not?"

"They are," Helena replied, "but they have nothing to do with sleep."

Rowena chuckled again. "Go back to bed and try to think of everything that you love."

Her daughter raised an eyebrow, not totally convinced with her mother's advice.

"Will that work?"

"It does for me." Rowena kissed her daughter gently on the cheek. "Just try."

_**Author's Note**_

_**Hello Fanfiction!**_

_**Thanks for reading my story. I should have the next chapter up in a day or so. Please review and tell me what you think!**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**Bellastrange51**_


	2. Painful Truth

**Second Year**

**November 11****th****, 1010**

**19:10**

"You seemed dazed during my lessons today." Rowena had just come from dinner and was sitting in an armchair. She sipped her cup of tea slowly. She always made the effort not to slurp, even if it was just her and Helena.

Helena looked pale and confused.

"I need to talk to you, mother."

Rowena set down her tea and leaned back in her chair. Helena had not come into her office since her first night at Hogwarts, so the reason was obviously significant. She motioned for Helena to sit in the chair next across from her.

Helena sat down. She placed her hands on her knees.

"I do not know where to begin," she mumbled, looking to her mother for advice.

Rowena raised an eyebrow and smiled a bit.

"The beginning, perhaps?"

Helena rolled her eyes and nodded.

"It _started _this morning before breakfast. I walked with Gretel to the owlery, and I heard something on the way back. Gretel had no idea what I was talking about."

"Sometimes the mind is so transposed with other thoughts that it misses out on other occurrences." Rowena took another sip of tea and continued. "That could have easily happened to Gretel. What was it that you heard?"

"A voice," Helena replied, sounding worried. She shook her head. "It is not possible for Gretel to have missed it."

Her mother looked confused now, but continued to give her input.

"We hear people talk each day," said Rowena. "It would be quite possible to miss."

Helena looked paler now. What her mother was saying clearly did not match up with her situation.

"This voice was different. It was like a whisper…but not a whisper that you would hear in a library. If anything, it sounded like an ill person. Perhaps not even as person at all…"

Rowena's facial expression turned cold and frozen, but Helena could sense something more.

"Tell me what the voice said." Rowena looked at her daughter intensely, which only caused Helena to worry more.

Trying to avoid her mother's gaze, Helena moved her eyes to the roaring fire.

"It was strange," the young girl replied. "I think that it was speaking to me."

"Go on," Rowena mumbled quickly.

Her daughter took a breath and recited the voice's words, _"A dozen years my master is gone. A dozen years your other creator is gone. My master is your creator. You can hear me. Retrieve him. Retrieve him."_

"Helena go to bed." Rowena stared at her daughter, her face expressing both anger and hurt.

"But mother-"

"Now, Helena."

Helena got up from her chair and glared at her mother.

"You are not going to try and help me?" The young girl was shocked with her mother's cold attitude.

"There is nothing to help. If you ever hear this voice again, you shall ignore it, do you understand?"

Helena looked appalled, but nodded anyway. She backed up a few steps and then quickly walked to the door. Rowena kept her eyes on her daughter the entire way.

Just before Helena turned the handle of the door, she turned back to face her mother. Tears were welling up in the young girl's eyes.

"You know," said Helena, "You taught me that telling the truth is right."

Rowena did not respond. She just nodded and looked away. Helena burst into tears and slammed the door.

As soon as the door closed, Rowena whispered to herself.

"Perhaps a lie is better than a painful truth."

_**Author's Note**_

_**Hello readers!**_

_**I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I hope that you understood what was inferred, but if not, you will find out later on. I should have the next chapter up soon. Please review!**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**Bellastrange51**_


	3. Closer Than Ever

Rowena had finally given in. A few short weeks after Helena told her about the voices, Rowena told the truth. Helena was her daughter. She simply had to tell her the truth.

Now Helena was nearly sixteen. Next month was her birthday. It was the prime of her life. She had a vast amount of friends and was on fairly strong terms with her mother. She had promised Rowena that she would keep the secret, and that was all Rowena needed to hear. As she informed her daughter, it was believed by others that Rowena had run of for the summer before Helena's birth, married, and became with child soon after. It was also believed by others that Rowena's 'husband' had died suddenly shortly after their wedding. It was a lie, but it was necessary.

Looking back on the last three years, it showed how important the mother-daughter relationship was…

_Three Years Ago, two months after Helena learned the truth: _

_Helga blotted Helena's head as the young girl lay silently. _

"_Am I going to die, Madame Hufflepuff?"_

"_You are recovering splendidly." The witch gently squeezed her forearm. "Death is nowhere near."_

_Helena sighed, "I feel as if it is just over my shoulder."_

"_Not to worry," Helga assured. _

"_There is just so much to be done." Helena looked at her hands. They were cradled on top of her stomach. "I want to have my own people."_

"_Your own people?" Helga asked, rather confused at her questioning. _

"_People to rule, to guide." Helena smiled a bit. "I would love to run the entire universe if I could…tell each person what should be done…"_

"_You must not think that way." Helga looked rather irritated by Helena's thoughts. "You must not dwell on such ambition. There are two types of ambition: hard work, and power-seeking."_

"_Helena?" A voice came from the other end of the room. Rowena had returned from her family visit to Albania. _

"_Hello mother," she greeted, trying to turn her pounding head in her mother's direction. _

"_Are you in pain?" Rowena asked, rushing to her daughter's side. _

"_Less than before," she replied, "but much no less."_

"_Perhaps I should leave both of you alone." Helga stood from her chair and left the room. Rowena nodded and thanked her for taking care of her child. _

"_I brought you something," said Rowena, after the door had closed._

_Helena smiled._

"_A present?" she asked._

_Rowena smiled back and reached into her pocket. Inside was an egg._

"_Breakfast?" Helena questioned, even though she was quite sure that was not the case. _

"_No dear," she stated. "It is a phoenix egg."_

"_But they are so rare." The young girl's eyes widened in amazement. "How could you possibly come across such a possession?"_

"_I met with a wizard in Albania…a very talented wizard. Upon hearing me speak so fondly of you, he decided to give you this."_

_Helena's smile grew wider. She gently brought her arms around her mother's neck. It surprised Rowena a bit, but she was very grateful to have someone to love. _

It could easily be said that the relationship grew because of unfortunate illness. Helena had a medieval condition that is now extinct. During the tenth century, the majority people died from Helena's illness, but Helena was able to hold on.

As time went on, Helena reached the point where she could have any conversation with her mother, within reason of course. This proved very useful as well. Helena, at fifteen, was becoming a woman. She was not her mother's child, but a mixture of both her parents. Her ambitions often made her jealous of those who were better at something than she was. Nonetheless, she was intelligent, not as intelligent as Rowena, but very keen to learn as much as possible.

Being both wise and witty, Rowena and Helena could carry on a conversation for hours. During the summers, when school was out, they visited several countries and explored history and literature of other cultures.

As said before, Helena was becoming a woman, and she was getting more opinionated each day. She needed her independence at times, but, at others, Rowena was a necessity.

_Six Months Ago…_

_They were visiting the Eastern Roman Empire. Rowena wished to gain more insight of magical sport. The empire itself was muggle-dominated, but even further east was a large wizarding community that could only be seen by those with magical power. _

_Helena had asked to go out alone that afternoon. It was part of her crave for independence. Rowena easily agreed. _

_Her daughter was back sooner than Rowena thought, however, which surprised her a great deal. _

"_You are back so soon," said Rowena. "Tis not even dusk."_

"_I need help with something." Helena looked a bit paler than usual, slightly shook up, and slightly worried. _

_Rowena looked to her daughter with concern._

"_What is the matter, dear?"_

_Helena removed her long cape from her body, exposing the bottom portion of her dress. She turned around to reveal the back. Several red blotches were scattered between her legs. _

"_I see you can bear children then." Rowena smiled a bit. Helena turned around and nodded. _

"_Come," Rowena instructed. She walked to where their beds were and retrieved a bucket underneath with her wand. It was empty with some cloth inside. Rowena filled it with water and handed dried-out cloth to Helena. _

"_If you need anything more, do let me know." _

_Helena nodded and looked at the cloth. She had seen Rowena tie them for herself on occasion, but she could not remember quite how. Helena refused to ask though, wanting to teach herself this one. _

_Although she needed her mother for some, Helena still felt the need to handle plenty on her own._

And now she would be sixteen. In the tenth century, sixteen was an important age. Magical families were to offer more freedom to their children. Helena was well aware of this and was very pleased. She still had plenty to do, for she kept her ambitions hidden inside. Hopefully, they would not get the better of her.

_**Author's Note**_

_**Hello readers!**_

_**I have decided to continue this story. I was not originally going to, but I will. There is more to come so please review and stay tuned!**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**Bellastrange51**_


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